St. Petersburg Synagogue

[freddiebud]

We are scheduled to visit the synagogue in St. P and wanted to know if anyone has visited lately. If so, did they charge you to enter? Were there other sites around that are of interest?

 

Thanks.

[RickT]

We are going to the Synagogue with Red October and they indicated it was a $4 (U.S.) cover charge.

[mycruz]

Our RO group made an impromtu stop last June. Our guide was great, she went in and spoke with someone, we had to wait a few minutes due to a dignitary visiting from Israel. Once it was clear, we entered and were given a short history lesson by a young girl working there. They did not charge anything, however they did accept donations.

[sandbag7]

I visited the synagogue in the course of the Regatta cruise which ended on July 4. Note that this is an orthodox synagogue and still active, and men and women are separated. There was no entry charge (we were a group of 4). The synagogue was relatively close to where our ship was docked and close to St. Isaac's and other sites.

[sandyruth]

we hope to go to the shul early sept ,so thanks for the info

[Choices]

Just returned several weeks ago from our Baltic Cruise, including several days in St. Petersburg. As part of our itinerary, we asked our private guide to book in some time for a brief tour of the synagogue. As others have mentioned it is nearby a number of other sites, so it is not out of the way for any of the other sites you wish to visit. It certainly helps to have a guide who is knowledgeable about the history as well the architechture. There was NO charge for the visit when we were there in mid June of this year...donations are always welcome however.

 

Be sure to visit one of the side rooms, where they have a ceremonial chuppa (wedding canopy) , which makes for a great photo opportunity. My wife and I were celebrating our 40th anniversary...and the chuppa photo, with us under the canopy, brought a sense of symmetry to the tour. You can probably plan on spending no more than 30 minutes to an hour at this site. Make sure however that you mention your wish to visit the synagogue to your guide ahead of time, so that they can plan the itinerary and timing accordingly.

 

Enjoy your Baltic cruise....be prepared to be very very busy, lots of ports, lots to see and do...and 20 hours of daylight each day!

 

Choices

[Lattemom]

We were just there last week with Red October. No charge but donations are welcome. We went to a synagoge in Gdansk, also, that was very interesting in case your are going there.

[Bruce3939]

Just returned from a Regenmt cruise to the Baltic. The synagogue was worth a trip....there was no charge to enter, but we had a private guide and that may have been the reason. If you don't take tours, be aware that many of the sites you will be visiting have special hours for independent travellers - sometimes only an hour in a day.

[Summerlin]

We also were on a private tour with Alla Tours (we were on the Century, by the way). There was no charge to enter the shul.

However, there is a nice Judaica shop next door. It opened at 10 am, which we didn't know--we had made this our first stop on our 2nd day in St P, and if we had known better, we would have visited later in the day. We would have loved to get some kippot or other Russian Jewish momentos.

Daniella and Keith

Las Vegas

[latoto]

We just returned, and there was a $4.00 charge to go into the synagogue and take photos. This included as well a guide for about 10 minutes.

[bpolan]

just returned from the baltics on the century, and we booked a private tour with den rus. when we met the guide and driver i asked if our group could do an unscheduled stop at the choral synagogue. that was absolutely no problem, it was generally on the way of our city highlights tour and not only did we stop to see it, we were led inside by someone in the shul and given a tour of the main sanctuary and the chapel, with the wedding chuppa (canopy) and bridal chair. the synagogue is gorgeous, and I recommend not missing it.

bp